Kikaider: Reborn
by Maverick Hunter Matt
Summary: Takes off where Kikaider the anime left off. Hope you enjoy it. Please R&R.
1. Identity Crisis

Only darkness could be seen. It was silent and still. Suddenly, images  
came rushing back to view. The destruction of two androids. Seeing  
them fall to the ground and shatter. Then the image of choking a black  
android, taunting him till an explosion rattled through his vision.  
What had he done? What happened? It all was coming so fast. It  
couldn't be.

"Jiro," a voice called out. "Jiro, can you hear me?" The voice called  
out again. Slowly his darkness parted. The light distorted images so  
that they were fuzzy at first, but soon they came into focus. The  
image of an elderly man was seen standing over him. Lifting his hand  
to his eyes, he saw the yellow mechanical hand come into view. He sat  
up, and looked around. "Ugh... where am I...?" the boy said. 

"Jiro, you're okay now. Just take it easy for a while; after all,  
there are still repairs that need to be completed." The old scientist  
looked up at the boy who was sitting on a metal table. The boy looked  
at the elderly scientist and recognized him.

"Dr. Komyoji? How... where are we? What happened... wha...? I don't  
understand." Dr. Komyoji held up his hand to silence him.

"All in good time Jiro, all in good time." He began working on the  
open panel on Jiro's leg that didn't reveal flesh; instead it was a  
jumble of metal, wires, and microchips. As soon as the doctor was done  
he closed the panel and looked up. "Now Jiro, what do you wish to  
discuss?"

"Well doctor... my first question would be how did we both end up  
here? And where _is_ here?"

"We are in the back-up libratory of my mansion." Dr. Komyoji declared.  
"It was the only place close enough to bring you with the capabilities  
of repairing you properly.'

"Well then, how did I end up here? I mean... I thought I was... well  
dead... Oh no!" Jiro's face turned Grim. "Dr... I killed them. My  
brothers, I killed them in cold blood. After that... I killed Gil...  
and then... I don't know."

"Gil implanted a device in you that over-rode your Gemini. However, it  
seems that your Gemini disabled it to some extent. I don't know the  
exact details of what happened. But after I was recovered, I saw what  
DARK was doing. After the explosion of Dark's weapon, I knew you had  
caused it. I rushed over and found what remained of you. You were  
badly damaged, and I could tell that your programming had been  
tampered with. So I brought you here. After that, it was easy to tell  
what my work was, and what was Gil's. But tell me Jiro, what  
happened?"

Jiro began telling Dr. Komyoji everything that had happened after his  
rescue. The meeting of a monk who had extreme knowledge of robotics,  
his unfinished creations, the new threat of DARK, and the meeting of  
an android who powered the weapon created by dark. Then he turned to  
Dr. Komyoji and asked, "Doctor. How long have I been in stasis?" Dr.  
Komyoji seemed to dance around this question with a light smile and he  
began working on something on his desk. Jiro did not like this answer.  
He pounded his fist against the metal table, leaving a dent.  
"Doctor... I ask you again, and I want a straight answer. How long was  
I offline?"

"Jiro," Dr. Komyoji began, "you may not like what you hear, but I  
suppose it must come out sooner or later. You have been in disrepair  
for a year an a half now. It has been long and hard trying to repair  
you, Jiro. You were in shards when I found you. Luckily, your Gemini  
Circuit and hardware remained, for the most part, intact. But things  
have changed quite a lot. I have to be honest about two things Jiro.  
One... well," the doctor paused, "Mitsuko... she waited but after the  
incident she thought you were dead for sure. She was in a state of  
despair. She found someone she could talk to. She and a young man  
eventually went on date after date. Now they are engaged. You must  
understand Jiro, she thought you were dead."

"It's ok doctor... It's better this way. She should forget all about  
me. Anyone I get close to... they die." Jiro looked down towards the  
floor. He could feel the Gemini produce sadness.

"Jiro..." Dr. Komyoji's voiced crackled, "we still think of you. She  
still loves you... some ways, I know. But... I brought you back for  
our own gain. I hate to say this but... You didn't destroy DARK."

"WHAT?!"  
"You only took out Gil and their weapon, not the organization. Their  
new leader... he's insane, a blood thirsty, power hungry dictator. His  
only goal is to take over the world. His wants the kikaider schematics  
and technology. I brought you back to protect us Jiro. I know it's a  
selfish reason jiro, and I'm sorry to tell you this. I really do look  
upon you as one of my own... but we need you now Jiro, now more than  
ever."

"Is that all I am to you doctor? Am I a weapon, some kind of tool or  
body guard, nothing more? Do you just want me to fight?"

"No Jiro. I knew you would not want to fight. I know that you despise  
it. But the fact of the matter is that DARK wants you. They want to  
know everything about you so they can create an army. And they will do  
anything to get it. But Jiro. If you do not wish to fight I will not  
make you. You are more than some kind of robot or mindless tool. You  
make your own decisions, not me." Jiro looked up at the doctor.

"I'm sorry doctor. I look upon you as a father. But I refuse to fight.  
I have seen enough blood shed on my account to last for an eternity. I  
do not wish to fight anymore... I hope you understand doctor."

"Jiro, I understand completely. I respect your decision. You do what  
you think is right. This is your life to live."

"Thank you..."


	2. Attack of the Shaodws

Chapter 2

Attack of the Shadows

A long time had passed since Jiro had recovered consciousness. He and doctor Komyoji discussed many things, Fuuten, the monk who had completed the two brothers of Jiro, the DARK force that Gil had built up, and many others. Finally, Komyoji looked at his watch and looked back with a startled surprise.

"My goodness, Jiro, It's nearly two in the morning! We had best get some sleep before day break. I have some other features I want to show you tomorrow, but for now lets..." Dr. Komyoji suddenly went silent. His attention turned to the large console on the wall with several monitors on it. Jiro looked puzzled until he followed the doctor's glance to the monitor system.

"What is it, doctor? What is the..." Dr Komyoji silenced him quickly and ran to the large door.

"Quick, Jiro, it's Dark! They must have found out that power was still reverting to this old lab. Damn! I had hoped that they wouldn't find us this soon."

"Doctor, I don't want to fight," said Jiro. "He looked in a panic around the lab.

"Then we had better run," Dr. Komyoji said. He rushed to the back of the lab and told Jiro to "knock down the wall." Jiro did as he was told and the wall instantly fell to the strength of his animatronic muscles. Through the hole he could see the tunnel leading outward from the lab. Dr. Komyoji took out a penlight and led the way. Just as they entered the tunnel, Jiro heard the sounds of loud crackling and banging on the large steel door of the back-up lab. They followed the tunnel for what seemed like a long time, until they came to a dead end.

"Doctor, we're trapped! Why did you lead us here?" Jiro inquired impatiently.

"Jiro, knock out the ceiling. The surface is just above us!" Jiro again, did as he was told, and moonlight poured through the opening. Dr. Komyoji grabbed onto Jiro as he leapt out of the tunnel with minimal effort.

"Doctor, are you alright? Jiro asked with concern.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. Well, looks like we made it out in one piece. We'd better leave before they find out we're still in the same area or... LOOK OUT, JIRO!" Jiro turned around to catch the sight of a burst of light heading towards him. Jiro thought quickly and he pushed Dr. Komyoji out of the way and tried to jump back the other, but the blast still clipped his hand, revealing his yellow robotic hand from his false human skin. Jiro caught his balance and turned around to see his attacker.

A humanoid robot stood, it looked like Jiro when he transformed into Kikaider, but the color scheme was different. Instead of half red and half blue, he was half black and half white.

"So this is where you've been hiding, Komyoji," it said. "And I see that my brother is  
with you." Jiro immediately recognized the voice. "So our intelligence was right,  
the good Doctor was trying to resurrect Kikaider."

"Saburo, what are you doing here?! I thought you were dead! Why are you working for Dark?! Gil betrayed you, or have you forgotten that?"

"Yes, Gill betrayed me, but just as you were revived by Doctor Komyoji, so I was revived  
by Dark. And as for my name, I am not known as Saburo any more, but Darkaider."

"Doctor, go hide," Jiro said. "Darkaider, I don't want to fight you!"

"That's too bad, Jiro, because I'm not giving you much of a choice." Darkaider held out his  
hand towards Jiro and a cannon barrel popped out of the palm. Bullets barraged Jiro and he  
held his arms up to protect him. But even though he was a robot, the bullets still hurt.

"Jiro, transform!" Dr. Komyoji called from his hiding place behind a tree.

"No!" Jiro cried. "I don't want to fight!"

"I'm no saying you should fight, just transform. You'll be able to survive Darkaider's attacks  
better."

That made sense to Jiro. He crossed his arms and touched a fist to the opposite shoulder.  
"Change!" He commanded. His human skin peeled away to reveal his robot state, humanoid robot that was half red and half blue with glowing yellow eyes.

Kikaider could tell that the Doctor was right; the bullets didn't hurt as much as it did when he was a human. Noticing that his guns were now all but useless, Darkaider moved in for close-range combat, launching a series of kicks at Kikaider which he blocked.

"You're just as weak as you were when we fought at Komyoji's previous lab," Darkaider commented. "What's wrong, Kikaider? Where's that heroic nonsense you always displayed."

"I'm not the same as before, Saburo," Kikaider said with a haunted look. "I've gone through a lot, more than you could ever imagine."

Darkaider was secretly surprised at his brother's comment. Wasn't he offline from the destruction of Gil's lab to now? Perhaps, when he destroyed Kikaider he could download his memory chips and find out just what he meant by that.

"I was hoping for a more worthwhile challenge, Kikaider. Perhaps the others will put up more of a  
fight."

"Others?"

"Dark doesn't want Komyoji simply to get revenge, they want the secret to the Kikaider technology."

"What secret?" Jiro asked. He had a feeling there was more to this than a simple revenge trip. And what secret did Darkaider mean?

"Gil was the only one of Dark with access to Komyoji's Kikaider technology. When he died, that secret died with him. Dark wants anyone connected to the Kikaider technology and they're willing to do anything to get it."

Anyone? Wasn't Dr. Komyoji the only one with the secrets that Darkaider and Dark wanted?  
Reverend Fuuten? No, they probably didn't know about him. But who else...

Suddenly it all clicked. There was another with the knowledge of the Kikaider technology. Mitsuko! She once told him that she studied robotics because she wanted to understand why her father neglected her and Masato for all those years. And she was the one who fixed Jiro's arm the night before he invaded Gil's base.

Suddenly, Kikaider's yellow eyes turned red, as they had done on a few occasions. He grabbed onto Darkaider's leg and threw him into a rock. He threw with such a force that the large boulder was completely shattered, and Darkaider was taken off guard.

"You will not hurt Mitsuko!!!" Kikaider yelled out into the rubble. All of the sudden, the ground near Kikaider flew into pieces and a large mantis-like robot emerged from the crater. "You again, I see you didn't learn the first time we fought. The mantis charged his claws and launched forward. Kikaider caught his charged saw-like claws in his own hands and was at a standstill with the mammoth robot.

"That's right brother!" called Darkaider, recovering from Kiakider's attack. And Mantis isn't the only old friend Dark took the liberties of resurrecting. Darkaider leapt out of the pit and launched a kick at Kikaider. Kikaider removed one hand from Mantis's claws and blocked the new advance on him, being squeezed between his two enemies. Kikaider felt the pressure growing and his shoulder gyro beginning to crack. He felt helpless. This was really it? He would die just after being repaired. He had failed Dr. Komyoji, he had Masato... and he had failed Mitsuko.

"NO! Kikaider screamed, as a barrel also extended from his left palm that was holding Mantis at bay and fired a large blast of light from it. Mantis could not escape from Kikaider's clutch and was almost completely incinerated. Darkaider was taken aback. And prepared fire his energy shot at the back of Jiro's head, now surprised at his own action.

"Jiro, watch out!" Dr. Komyoji cried out as Darkaider prepared for his attack.

"I've had just about enough of as I can stand, old man! All I need to do is save your brain!" And with those last words, Darkaider aimed his barrel toward Komyoji and fired a single shot that pierced Komyoji's chest. The doctor fell to his knees and collapsed on the ground. "There. Problem solved."

"Doctor! Saburo, how could you!? He was your creator too!"

"All the more reason to kill the senile old fool," Darkaider gloated.

"Saburo... You're a bastard. ILL... KILL YOU FOR THIS!!!

"THEN LET"S SEE YOU BACK IT UP... BROTHER!" Darkaider jumped into the air some thirty odd feet. He came down fast and kicked Kikaider in the stomach. Kikaider, his eyes still glowing red, grabbed Darkaider's foot and began crushing it. Eventually he crushed it so much that Darkaider lost balance and fell back. As Darkaider fell onto the ground Kikaider grabbed Saburo's right arm and pinned him to the ground, pushing it down on his chest while he began to choke him with his other hand. Kikaider's hands charged a pale blue color and the armor on Darkaider began to singe and melt away.

Just as Jiro was about to end Darkaider's life he heard Komyoji call out, "Jiro, stop, don't destroy him!" Immediately, Kikaider's eyes returned to normal. Kikaider got off of his brother and pointed at him.

"Tell your masters at Dark that if they want Komyoji or Mitsuko, they'll have to destroy me first!"

"Careful what you wish for, brother, it just might come true. Your threats mean nothing against Dark's ultimate plan, but I'll enjoy the challenge. But make no mistake; it will be I who destroys you!" Darkaider activated his one remaining boot jet and took off lop-sided.

Kikaider dashed off to where Dr. Komyoji was lie bleeding on the ground. He lifted his creator off the ground with a grave look.

"Jiro... I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't able to eradicate Gil's influence on your system completely. I.." he paused and coughed up blood.

"Doctor... don't blame yourself. Don't try and talk. You need to conserve your strength.

"Jiro, It's no use. Really, I accept my fate, but you must know something... you have to..." the doctor reached into his coat and pulled out a small disk from his pocket, now covered with small flecks of blood and handed it to Jiro. "Jiro... promise me. Promise me that you... will protect them... promise... me."

Kikaider slowly nodded, "I promise I will protect them...father." Doctor Komyoji smiled...blood collecting on the sides of his lips. Then feeling his hand became limp and fall to the ground. Kikaider then became Jiro again, and tears became swelling in his eyes. Then taking, the doctor's body, he buried in the pit of rubble and trudged off to the back up lab. He walked to the large console and inserted the disk. All the monitors projected the same, middle-aged, white haired, large nosed man in a coat. It was doctor Komyoji.

"Jiro, If you're watching this then DARK has... eliminated me and you still have questions. Hopefully this will answer some of them. If you haven't already discovered, you've been modified form your brother's and your original design. I realized that models 00 and 02 had been activated and must have followed with you. I found their remains in the rubble and their memory chips. I also saw your memory chips as well. Jiro, do not dare blame your self. That was all Gil's doing. But, I tired to do what I could with what was left. You now have the best of all the designs. You have model 00's blade hands and examination systems. You also have 02's guns in the palm of your hands... literally. You have all these modifications as well as all your old abilities and a... last resort that you will find out on your own. You've also been upgraded all around. I know you weren't intended to be this... but you are now a war machine with a heart and soul. It's your choice to use the abilities or to merely live your live on your own accord. But, I beseech you Jiro, don't let them do to Mitsuko or Masato what they did to me.

In the old house garage you will find a motorcycle and a... present from me. Jiro, you are not just a machine, you are human being... you just have a metal shell. Take care Jiro... and be happy." The image of Doctor Komyoji smiled... the same smile that had on his face just before he died.

Jiro made sure to destroy everything in the lab and he followed the doctor's directions. He found the old garage of the mansion and found the yellow motorcycle with a passenger pod, an exact duplicate of the one he had used before. In the passenger pod lay a brown-yellow acoustic guitar. Jiro lifted it gently, its body gleaming in the dim light. On the bottom of the body was carved a single word, "Gemini". Jiro smiled with tears running down his cheeks. He also found a black denim jacket, black denim jeans and a red shirt, also duplicates of the ones he wore before except for their color. He looked in a dusty mirror and admitted he liked the new look. He knew where he had to go now. The doctor had said that Mitsuko was in Europe, and that is where he would go. He would find and protect her, no matter the cost.

Strapping his guitar firmly in the passenger side, he mounted his motorcycle and backed down slowly. He nodded to the make-shift grave of Dr. Komyoji and drove off into the setting sun. He was no longer Kikaider... He was reborn. He was the same Jiro, but he was now Neo-Kikaider.


	3. Rising Tide

A Rising Tide

The room was pitch black, save for the small light that was on the ceiling which sent a dim beam down upon a table where sat thirteen men, all in suits, with their faces covered in shadow and shrouds. The man at the head of the table, larger and broader then the others, sat with his hands folded, silent.

"What news of the western division? Will they be ready by the scheduled time?" One man, bald and aging asked firmly.

"It would seem so. Ever since the new lieutenants were sent to maintain order, the problems have been minimized. We're back on schedule, for now.

"These things do not concern me." The larger man at the head of the table spoke. All of the other men turned to look at him, stunned slightly, reaching for their ever tightening ties. "What of our strike to recover the technology?" No one spoke after he finished. Everyone looked at each other, nervously,

"W-well.." spoke a man at the opposite end of the table. "It seems that the operative you requested to send failed to recover either the maverick android or the doctor's brain. The whereabouts of the escaped machine are unknown at this time, but our best agents are working on locating it, now."

"Kuffs, you are as redundant as you are boring. Perhaps you would like to see failure in it's form?" Kuffs, a man of around fifty years of age, was now shaking with uneasiness. Without warning, a hand reached from the impenetrable darkness and wrapped around his aging throat. The hand, dark and cold began to choke off all air to the man's body.

Two red eyes beamed from the darkness just behind where the strangling Kuffs was lifted off his feet and struggling for his life The figure revealed himself a little more as he stepped into the undefined beam of light, carrying the man by his throat, his metal body gleaming slightly in the darkness.

"Ah, Saburo, there you are." The head of the table spoke again in a jovial tone, as if he were welcoming someone to dinner. "Mr. Kuffs here seems to think that you have left us out of luck with your mission. And, as luck would have it, he has proposed that we take you "off line" as he called it, to prevent any betrayal that my organization might incur from your actions. How do you feel about that?"

"Like he should have kept his mouth shut over affairs that weren't his," came the amused, robotic response. "Let me address any concerns that this council may have..." Saburo's mechanical voice began. "First, even though I may have killed the professor, I can assure you that it was all for the best. The senile old bastard would have been much more trouble then he was worth. And, had I recovered his body, I have been alerted that his brain would not have survived a second removal. Mr. Kuff's laid out plan was doomed from the start."

"And what of the escaped Kikaider?" The large man asked half smiling.

"I will track him down and deal with him. If I can't bring him in functional, then I will bring him back in pieces. Do we understand?" Saburo asked. Mr. Kuffs was still kicking and fighting for his life, futile in his efforts. The man's face was now turning a deep shade of purple and his eye began to swell.

"You see, esteemed members of the committee? Everything is well in hand." The large man stood up, revealing he was exceptionally tall and well built, standing well over seven feet. "So I would advise following my associates advice and keeping your opinions to yourselves."

"And what of this one?" Darkider asked, still holding the man with one arm, squeezing the air from his body.

"He's boring... and you know how I hate to be bored." Without another word, Saburo in his robotic Darkider form broke the man's neck with the slightest effort and released his limp body, letting it drop to the floor with a sickening thud. "Meeting adjourned."

Horrified at the death of one of their colleagues, the men around the table scurried away, leaving many of their possessions behind. Eventually, only the man who sat at the head of the table and Darkider were left. Kicking the body of the former Mr. Kuffs aside, Saburo sat down casually, as did the man.

"What do you have to report on your "brother", Saburo? I would hate to have the dead old fool to be right about you."

"Sir, the initial encounter was surprising, I will admit. He was different then how I remembered him, and I did underestimate him. However, he's still the same caring, oblivious fool as before. He won't kill me, and I know where he is going."

"Are you sure?" The man said in a low tone.

"Positive. Now with Komyoji dead, his main concern will be his daughter."

"How can you be so sure of this? Maybe he will avoid her at all costs. After all, the fool believes the farther he stays away the safer those he cares for are.

"He made the connection. He knows the we want anyone with connection to the "Kikaider" technology. The only other person would be Komyoji's daughter. He will seek her out and try to protect her."

"You're a little too confident in that."

"He loves her... While he may think that she is better off without him, he also realized that we want her more. He will go for her and Komyoji's son. He's a fool. He's also sloppy. He'll make a mistake. After all, a man with a guitar, yellow motocycle, and his personality won't be hard to miss." He put his mechanical feet on the table and his hands behind his head. "I'll take him down long before he can reach Mitsuko and Masaru."

"You're getting rather close, using their names like that so casually." The man said.

"About as close as Mr. George Kuffs, here."

"What if you can't get to him? What if he evades you. He's done it before."

"He had help then, and I assure you, even if he does manage to get to the girl... I'll be there to welcome him. I've also stationed and old friend at the only town within 100 miles of the lab where he escaped. He'll have to stop there sooner or later. I'll get him."

"I hope so, Saburo... for your sake." The man said in a deep, firm voice as Darkider began to leave. "remember. I gave you a new body, I recovered you mind, and I gave you a second chance. I would hate to have to make an example of you, just like Mr. Kuff."

"I understand... sir."

"I killed Gil, Big Shadow, and those who opposed my little coup... don't make me eliminate you, as well." Saburo nodded his metal head and left the room. Slowly he walked down the darkened halways and concealed corners.

"Yeah... just wait. Soon, not even you will know what hit you. And my brother is the key to more then just your plans..."


End file.
